Homes That Fit the Place (First Draft)
1People all over the world build homes that fit the place where they live. Builders often use materials they can find nearby. Many homes are shaped by the weather. Others are shaped by water or by the way people travel.
2Some homes are built for hard weather. Inuit hunters in the Arctic have built igloos for winter hunting trips. An igloo is a dome made of blocks of packed snow. An igloo stays warm inside. Snow traps tiny pockets of air. Adobe homes are built for hot, dry places. Adobe bricks are made of mud and straw that dry hard in the sun. Thick adobe walls keep rooms cool on hot afternoons. They give off stored warmth during chilly desert nights.
3Other homes are built for places near water. Some families live beside rivers, lakes, or the sea. Their homes stand on tall wooden posts called stilts. The home stays dry when floods come. The stilts lift the floor above the water. Some stilt homes are built right over a river or lake. In some villages, people travel from house to house by boat.
4Some homes are made to move. Many herders in Mongolia live in round tents called gers. These herders move their homes several times a year. Their animals need fresh grass. A ger has a wooden frame covered with thick felt made from sheep's wool. A family can take it apart and pack it up in a few hours. The tipi is a home that can move. Long ago, many Plains peoples lived in tipis made of long wooden poles and buffalo hides.
5Each of these homes is a smart answer to the place around it. Builders used what they had to stay warm, cool, dry, or ready to move.